By Ashley Kaster
(WLUK) — The Universities of Wisconsin is reporting steady enrollment, despite a decline in international students.
Enrollment numbers for two Northeast Wisconsin colleges show growth for the new semester. Preliminary fall 2025 enrollment estimates have increased year-over-year at UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh.
At UWGB, 11,500 students are enrolled for the fall semester — a 3% growth from last fall.
That means a minimum of 312 more students chose to pursue their educational goals as Phoenix this year compared to a year ago. Additionally, UW-Green Bay served more than 100,000 students through its Continuing Education and Workforce Training programs in the last year, with additional growth predicted for the current year.
UW-Green Bay is the fastest growing university in the state, with 28% enrollment growth in the last five years.
And in Oshkosh, nearly 12,500 students have enrolled as Titans.
While the new freshman class is projected to have a decline from fall 2024 to fall 2025 due to the discontinuation of teaching and learning at UWO-Fox Cities in June, new first-year student estimates specifically for the Oshkosh-campus, year-over-year, indicate a 2.2% increase.
A deeper dive into UW-Oshkosh enrollment reveals resilience and encouraging momentum in student populations that align with institutional strengths and growth strategies, Chancellor Manohar Singh said.
A breakdown of UW-Oshkosh data shows:
- Honors College enrollment – up 2% after a record year of growth in 2024-25.
- Transfer student enrollment – up 4%
- New graduate student enrollment – up 17%
- First-year student retention – up 4%
- The first-year class on the Oshkosh campus – up 2%
UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh will provide final enrollment reports to the Universities of Wisconsin later this fall.
Meanwhile, the Universities of Wisconsin reported Tuesday that enrollment at eight of its universities increased.
Based on Day One student counts, new freshman enrollment is up 3%, or nearly 900 students across Universities of Wisconsin — with eight universities showing new freshman enrollment increases of 5% or more.
However, significant declines in international students are a likely reason overall enrollment remained steady and did not increase. International enrollment could drop as much as 15% at U.S. colleges nationwide, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators and JB International.
“We are seeing positive signs on enrollment for the third straight year,” said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman in a news release. “New freshman enrollment is particularly promising. It’s a win when our state’s public universities continue to attract and retain talent Wisconsin will need to prosper.”
The preliminary headcount enrollments for fall 2025 are:
- UW-Eau Claire: 9,498
- UW-Green Bay: 11,500
- UW-La Crosse: 10,627
- UW-Madison: 51,550
- UW-Milwaukee: 22,613
- UW-Oshkosh: 12,457
- UW-Parkside: 3,895
- UW-Platteville: 6,406
- UW-River Falls: 5,275
- UW-Stevens Point: 8,538
- UW-Stout: 7,047
- UW-Superior: 2,859
- UW-Whitewater: 12,075
Source: UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh see promising enrollment growth for fall 2025